Music as an educative enrichment medium for the remediation of children with reading problems

Bibliography: leaves 168-172.The primary focus of this dissertation was work with a group of children who were experiencing problems in reading and to formulate strategies which incorporates an innovative approach using music. Many learning problems encountered today could be avoided if children's earliest backgrounds were rich in songs, poems set to music, nursery rhymes and musical games. It is necessary for a child to experience rhythm in every possible way to enable him to read with a flowing rhythm and a pleasant intonation. A child must be able to feel and experience the rhythm of the spoken word by repeating rhymes, phrases, chanting children's names, for example. This is done by tapping the word, using body movements (clapping, stamping) and transferring this rhythm to percussion instruments while experiencing the speech rhythm. Many approaches have been used with children who are disabled readers and none use music as a tool. The progress of these children has therefore been slow, tedious and not always successful. Music has not been used before as an approach to assist children with reading disabilities. In this dissertation it has been proved that music helps children overcome their reading problems, as it is the only approach which offers total involvement of the child and therefore the best results are achieved. All children involved in the research enjoyed the activities and derived great pleasure from performing them unaware that the process of remediation was taking place

Multisensory learning in adaptive interactive systems

The main purpose of my work is to investigate multisensory perceptual learning and sensory integration in the design and development of adaptive user interfaces for educational purposes. To this aim, starting from renewed understanding from neuroscience and cognitive science on multisensory perceptual learning and sensory integration, I developed a theoretical computational model for designing multimodal learning technologies that take into account these results. Main theoretical foundations of my research are multisensory perceptual learning theories and the research on sensory processing and integration, embodied cognition theories, computational models of non-verbal and emotion communication in full-body movement, and human-computer interaction models. Finally, a computational model was applied in two case studies, based on two EU ICT-H2020 Projects, "weDRAW" and "TELMI", on which I worked during the PhD

The Renaissance Repertoire Challenge: Achieving Authentic Choral Performances through the Application of Dalcroze Techniques

It is challenging for modern choirs to present aesthetically pleasing and historically authentic performances of Renaissance vocal repertoire due to its complex musical language and interpretive demands. Overcoming these obstacles requires thorough research, score study, and most importantly, a rehearsal approach that elicits engaged, confident, and nuanced responses from the choir. The Jaques-Dalcroze Method, an approach to music education developed by Émile Jaques-Dalcroze (1865-1950), emphasizes the harmony of mental and physical processes in the learner. Through an applied research study with fifteen university students and a conductor (participant-researcher), this study examines the effectiveness and suitability of the Dalcroze approach to the singing of music from the Renaissance era within a choral context. Over the course of nine sessions, participants performed physical exercises to embody the musical language of the Renaissance and integrated their discoveries into the singing of Josquin des Prez’ Ave Maria…virgo serena. They recorded journal entries after each session and completed exit interviews at the conclusion of the study. Findings suggest that exercises rooted in Dalcroze principles not only improve choir members’ overall rhythmic acuity, aural perception, individual and cooperative interpretive decision-making, and musical unity, but also awaken curiosity, enhance enjoyment, and establish grounding in the musical language of Renaissance repertoire. The goal of this project is to provide conductors with a practical “toolkit” and a pedagogical method that empowers their ensembles to produce thoughtful, imaginative, and engaging performances of Renaissance vocal music rooted in historical practice

Practitioners' strategies for enhancing early childhood music education in Taiwan

The purpose of this study was to describe practices of pre-school educators and to investigate the extent to which they enhance music instruction among five-to-six-year-old children. This was accomplished through an examination of three early childhood educators investigating what strategies are used for providing music instruction to pre-school children, the attitudes of teachers and parents in regard to this, the most effective approach for providing music instruction, and the assessments used to measure student progress in achieving musical skills. Primary participants included three early childhood teachers, and secondary participants included nine parents. Qualitative methods were used, including formal interviews with the three chosen teachers. They were each interviewed one time individually. Parents were given open-ended questionnaires designed by the researcher. Observations of teacher interactions with students were conducted in 14 separate sessions over a period of three weeks, where the researcher sat in during general and music class in the same classroom; the field notes cataloged observations of musical activities. The collected documents included teaching materials developed by the music and classroom teachers, such as lesson plans and a teaching activity handbook. The Taiwanese pre-school music curriculum included singing, music and movement, listening, and playing musical instruments. Data indicated that children can only audiate to one instrumental sound or one melodic line at a time. The teacher provided feedback was found to be effective in enhancing student musical learning. Teachers served as musical models in singing, music and movement, and in playing instruments to assist children's musical learning. Bruner's theory of enactive and iconic modes of representation played an important role in singing, music and movement, as well as listening in the class. The model movements or gestures were presented by the teachers and imitated by the children. Teachers and parents had positive attitudes toward early childhood music education. When music classes were provided, the music teacher could enhance both the classroom teacher and children's musical skills. Effective approaches were storytelling and using body movements. Participants reported several different opinions regarding teachers' assessment of students including having teachers follow the national curriculum standard, assess her students through their classroom response, and observe her students at a graduation concert. In general, the practitioners' strategies for enhancing pre-school music education were positive and related to previous research findings on music instruction and educational theories

Practitioners' strategies for enhancing early childhood music education in Taiwan

The purpose of this study was to describe practices of pre-school educators and to investigate the extent to which they enhance music instruction among five-to-six-year-old children. This was accomplished through an examination of three early childhood educators investigating what strategies are used for providing music instruction to pre-school children, the attitudes of teachers and parents in regard to this, the most effective approach for providing music instruction, and the assessments used to measure student progress in achieving musical skills. Primary participants included three early childhood teachers, and secondary participants included nine parents. Qualitative methods were used, including formal interviews with the three chosen teachers. They were each interviewed one time individually. Parents were given open-ended questionnaires designed by the researcher. Observations of teacher interactions with students were conducted in 14 separate sessions over a period of three weeks, where the researcher sat in during general and music class in the same classroom; the field notes cataloged observations of musical activities. The collected documents included teaching materials developed by the music and classroom teachers, such as lesson plans and a teaching activity handbook. The Taiwanese pre-school music curriculum included singing, music and movement, listening, and playing musical instruments. Data indicated that children can only audiate to one instrumental sound or one melodic line at a time. The teacher provided feedback was found to be effective in enhancing student musical learning. Teachers served as musical models in singing, music and movement, and in playing instruments to assist children's musical learning. Bruner's theory of enactive and iconic modes of representation played an important role in singing, music and movement, as well as listening in the class. The model movements or gestures were presented by the teachers and imitated by the children. Teachers and parents had positive attitudes toward early childhood music education. When music classes were provided, the music teacher could enhance both the classroom teacher and children's musical skills. Effective approaches were storytelling and using body movements. Participants reported several different opinions regarding teachers' assessment of students including having teachers follow the national curriculum standard, assess her students through their classroom response, and observe her students at a graduation concert. In general, the practitioners' strategies for enhancing pre-school music education were positive and related to previous research findings on music instruction and educational theories